Teachable alternatives: four ways to sell courses without its fees
Teachable's plan price is rarely what you pay. Starter takes 7.5% of every sale, card processing comes on top of every plan, and students you import or give free access cost $0.50 a month each after the first 100. Readers here are usually coaches and creators launching a first course, or giving one away to a big free list.
Most tools on this page are affiliate partners of ours, Teachable included: we may earn a commission if you sign up through a button here, at no extra cost to you. That is why the page also says when to stay with Teachable.
Why people look beyond Teachable
- Fees on top of the plan: Starter, $39 a month, takes a 7.5% transaction fee, and a US school also pays 2.9% + $0.30 per domestic card (pricing page, 2 November 2026).
- Free students cost money: students added by import, the API, manual enrollment or 100% coupons are free up to 100 per school, then $0.50 a month each.
- No free plan: there is a 7-day free trial and a 30-day guarantee, and Starter allows only 5 published products and 1 admin.
- Leaving has steps: refunds need a written request within 30 days after you cancel, and student subscriptions may keep charging for up to 30 days after your school plan ends.
Teachable today: Starter $39/mo ($29/mo billed annually, 7.5% transaction fee); Builder $89/mo ($69/mo annually); Growth $189/mo ($139/mo annually); Custom on request. Payment processing extra (US: 2.9% + $0.30 domestic card) (read 2 Nov 2026)
The alternatives
1. LearnWorlds
Best forCourse creators and training businesses who want a branded school with interactive video, assessments and certificates.
Why switchBuyers on Research.com and Tekpon (August 2026) say few platforms match its interactive video, with quizzes, hotspots and branching inside the lesson. Pro Trainer is $99 a month or $79 billed annually, with no enrollment fee (29 October 2026).
Watch outStarter, $49 a month, adds $5 per paid enrollment, so at ten sales a month it already costs as much as Pro Trainer ($49 + 10 x $5 = $99), and the branded mobile app is an add-on without a stated price.
Price we readStarter $49/mo (or $44 annually) but with a $5 fee per paid enrollment; Pro Trainer $99/mo, no enrollment fee (read 29 Oct 2026)
Try LearnWorlds →2. LifterLMS
Best forCreators already on WordPress who want to own their course site, or give a course to a large free list.
Why switchThe core plugin is free and open source with unlimited courses, memberships and students, and Earth adds payments for one site at $199 the first year (pricing page, 10 October 2026). Our Teachable dossier names it for the big free list that Teachable charges per student for.
Watch outBundles renew at twice the first-year price, Earth $398 a year, and hosting, updates and backups are yours to manage.
Price we readCore plugin free; Earth $199 first year (renews $398/yr); Universe $299 ($598); Infinity $799 ($1,598) (read 10 Oct 2026)
Try LifterLMS →3. Kartra
Best forCoaches who want landing pages, email automation, checkout and memberships in one tool instead of five subscriptions.
Why switchStarter is $119 a month or $99 billed yearly with no transaction fee on sales (30 September 2026), and buyers on G2, Capterra and GetApp (August 2026) like having pages, email, checkout and membership in one system.
Watch outKartra's help centre says you can no longer create or edit webinars from 1 November 2026, and the cheapest tier, Essentials, takes a 5% fee and caps contacts at 500.
Price we readEssentials $59 a month, or $52 a month billed yearly (read 30 Sep 2026)
Try Kartra →4. Circle
Best forCreators whose course sits inside a paid community with events, discussions and memberships.
Why switchCircle puts courses, events, memberships and messaging in one branded home with built-in payments; Professional is $89 a month billed yearly, $129 monthly (12 October 2026).
Watch outCircle keeps about 2% of each sale on top of Stripe's processing fees, email marketing is a separate add-on, and branded apps need the custom-priced Circle Plus.
Price we readFrom $89/mo billed annually ($129 monthly), plus about 2% commission on sales (read 12 Oct 2026)
Try Circle →Stay with Teachable if
- You sell steadily to your own audience: Builder, $89 a month or $69 billed annually, drops the transaction fee to 0% with Teachable Payments and beats Starter once sales pass about $670 a month.
- You want checkout, tax handling and iOS and Android student apps handled for you, without running WordPress or a community.
- You need several admins, certificates or imported students: Growth, $139 a month billed annually, gives 50 products and 5 admins.
Questions buyers ask
Which Teachable alternative takes no cut of my sales?
LearnWorlds Pro Trainer has no enrollment fee and Kartra Starter has no transaction fee. Circle keeps a commission on each sale. On Teachable itself, Builder and above have a 0% transaction fee with Teachable Payments, but card processing still applies.
Can I give a course to thousands of free subscribers?
On Teachable, students added outside checkout cost $0.50 a month each after the first 100. LifterLMS's free core has unlimited students, but you run the WordPress site yourself.
Have you tested Teachable yourselves?
No. We have not used Teachable ourselves. This page draws on the vendors' pricing pages and on buyer reports, as named in each section.
Where these facts come from
Teachable's pricing page, usage-fees page and transaction-fee help article read 2 November 2026, and its cancellation and refund articles read 16 October 2026. Alternatives from their pricing pages: LearnWorlds 29 October, LifterLMS 10 October, Kartra 30 September and Circle 12 October 2026. Prices change: each one carries the date we read it, and our reviews are re-checked against the vendor pages.